Been Around (Since The Old Days)

Performed by Adra Boo
Lyrics by Adra Boo
Music by Blake Madden
Mastered by Martin Feveyear, Feveyear Master/Mix

Lace up my heels
Lips painted to the Gawdess above
Unbreakable nets to catch the weight of the world
Don’t let the soft skin fool ya- i’ma beast- come and get’chu some love

And when I lay the gift on ya- put some respect on my name
Never confuse it- I’ma a child of the oldest of games
Some might call me mama or Queen, but one thing remains
Put the money in my hand and don’t trip- baby, it’s all the same…

I been around since the old days!
And ain’t goin’ nowhere- baby I’m stayin!
Don’t hate the player, don’t hate the game
Cuz I done worked to hard to get my rein
Said I ain’t going nowhere, baby I’m stayin…
I been around since the old days!

Lift up that chin
Black auntie come to round up my fam
Some only here to keep the roof over their head
Don’t let a mu’fu ever convince you that they betta than

Now some of us here for the fire- for the heat- to explode,
Some of us here cause we can bear the weight of the load
And you can call me mama- call me queen, but one thing remains
Put the money in my hand and don’t trip- baby it’s all the same

I been around since the old days!
And ain’t goin’ nowhere- baby I’m stayin!
Don’t hate the player, don’t hate the game
Cuz I done worked to hard to get my rein
Said I ain’t going nowhere, baby I’m stayin…
I been around since the old days!

Put some respect on my name!
Put some respect on my name!
(Give us our protections!)
Put some respect on my name!
(Give us that recognition!)
Put some respect on my name!
(For that sexual liberation!)
Put some respect on my name!
(One of the oldest of professions)
Put some respect on my name!
(Don’t hate the playa, don’t hate the game)
Put some respect on my name!
(Put some respect on my name!)

I been around since the old days!
And ain’t goin’ nowhere- baby I’m stayin!
Don’t hate the player, don’t hate the game
Cuz I done worked to hard to get my rein
Said I ain’t going nowhere, baby I’m stayin…
I been around since the old days!

Seattle’s #OldProProject music video for “Been Around (Since the Old Days)” is dedicated to Allena Gabosch.

The Joy of Allena Gabosch

March 25, 1953 – November 25, 2020

Allena Gabosch was a powerful force in creating and fostering sex positive culture in the Pacific Northwest. While she may not have started hosting educational and social events until 1990, her life was full of experiences that taught her the importance of sex and sexuality in being human.

Keep reading…

Mx. Pucks A’Plenty
puckduction@gmail.com
(206) 588-6672

Sex Workers Been Around (Since the Old Days)

#OldProProject Seattle City Coordinator Mx. Pucks A’Plenty commissioned a celebratory song, “Been Around (Since the Old Days)”, about sex worker history, and produced a stunning music video featuring sex worker advocates at every conceivable level of production. The song serves as an anthem for all sex workers, and centers the legendary Madame Lou Graham, a local hero to the sex work community in Seattle. 

“Been Around (Since the Old Days)” was written and recorded by Adra Boo, singer/songwriter, emcee, dancer, and activist. An incredible music video featuring local sex workers was made to accompany the song, and includes a dance choreographed by D’Monica Leone and performed by Ms. Briq House, a burlesque performer and activist based in Seattle. Local sex worker activists in Seattle helped bring the video to life, featured as additional background dancers. Filmed by Daniel Chang, the music video was shot on location throughout historic Pioneer Square and other notable locations in the Downtown area of Seattle. City Coordinator Mx. Pucks A’Plenty produced and directed the video.

The goal of this anthem is to fire up sex worker advocates, and bring pride to the community. Its debut will not be the last time this song and video are played; it will be an anthem for generations of sex workers to come.

Lou Graham, born Dorothea Georgine Emile Ohben, was Seattle’s most famous madam. Born in Germany around 1861 (some scholars believe she was born closer to 1857) and emigrated to the United States aboard the Pacific Pride in 1881. Graham arrived in Seattle on the cusp of reforms inspired by the area’s fight for women’s suffrage. The city’s economy – largely dependent on collected fines on various forms of vice – crashed due to the revocation of liquor licenses and the closure of brothels. But Graham was an old pro and master negotiator. She met with Seattle’s most prominent businessmen, including banker Jacob Furth, to establish an upscale bawdy house on Third and Washington Streets.

Graham’s establishment rivaled the most expensive hotels of the day and she offered her employees lodging and educational opportunities. The brothel burned down in the Great Fire of 1889, but Graham didn’t miss a beat. She had amassed a fortune to not only rebuild her brothel, but to also fund a multitude of city projects, private businesses, and public education.

Graham left Seattle in 1902, as moral policing became more restrictive. She died later that year and her cause of death has been under dispute, with overdose, syphilis, and suicide named as causes. No matter how she died, Lou Graham maintains a legacy of an entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, and the old pro who rebuilt Seattle.

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Citation: Valley, Rebecca. “The Damnable Dames Who Helped Shape Seattle’s Character,” in Atlas Obscura, (March 16, 2016) accessed October 29, 2020. Link to the source.

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Gonzalez, Sara. “Washington Court Building, (May 24, 2014) accessed October 29, 2020. Link to the source.

A blog post about the original site of Lou Graham’s brothel and the post contains links to additional resources about Graham and the building. Sara Gonzalez is a professor of anthropology at the University of Washington.

McNeill, Maggie. “Lou Graham,” in The Honest Courtesan (December 4, 2014), accessed October 29, 2020. Link to the source.

Biographical sketch of Graham written by a fellow pro.

Valley, Rebecca. “The Damnable Dames Who Helped Shape Seattle’s Character,” in *Atlas Obscura*, (March 16, 2016) accessed October 29, 2020. Link to the source.

Valley’s short essay provides details of Lou Graham’s life, along with other notable Seattle madams, and a glimpse into Gilded Age Seattle.